Profile of Mark Foo on Famous Like Me

Mark Foo (born Mark Sheldon Foo on February 5, 1958 - died December 23, 1994) was a professional surfer.

Born in Singapore to a Chinese photojournalist for the U.S. Information Agency he relocated to Hawaii at age 4. Foo spent his early childhood surfing the South Shore of O'ahu. His family moved several times during his adolescence, but Foo ultimately returned to Hawaii just before finishing high school. He continued surfing throughout his teen years and in 1977 he joined a professional surfing tour, the IPS World Tour. In the early 1980s, Foo quit the IPS World Tour, stopped competing, and began surfing Waimea Bay, a famous big wave surfing spot on the Leeward side of O'ahu. Foo's passion for surfing big waves led him to surf larger and larger swells.

On December 23, 1994, Mark Foo died in a tragic surfing accident at Mavericks, a big wave break off the coast of Northern California. During take-off on an 18 foot wave, Foo experienced a seemingly innocuous wipeout which resulted in his drowning. Foo's death shook the big wave surfing community, as one of its pioneers had died.

Mark helped elevate the popularity of the sport, with his talent, courage, and enthusiasm, and was certainly recognized as one of the greatest big-wave surfers to ever ride the waves. Mark was a favorite subject of photographers, and he had his own cable television surfing program. "If you want to ride the ultimate wave, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price" was Mark's philosophy, which he certainly lived until the day of his final ride.

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